I have an 18v ryobi 6” hp pruning saw and it’s excellent for what it is. I use it at work for clearing shrubs around rabbit warrens and it is far better than using a hand saw.
Do gas chainsaws make any sense for a homeowner?
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Old thread but the only one I could find that had a post about the Ryobi One+ 18V 6"Cordless Battery Compact Pruning Mini Chainsaw with the 2.0 Ah Battery and Charger. Saw I purchased this last year on sale for ~$90. with the battery. At first I was very skeptical about Ryobi's product description that it has an oil free design. I have 2 other gas chainsaws that have oil reservoirs. The manual says to put some chain oil on the blade before each pruning session. I did this the first time I used it but the oil only lasted about 2 cuts. I have used it to make ~400 pruning cuts to 54 Leyland cypress trees on my property without putting any more oil on it. I have sharpened the blade twice, 5/32" file at 30 degrees.
I have little to no wear on the chain bar. I keep the blade tight against the bar when I run it. Some reviewers on HD have posted that the chain on theirs falls off. I have never had the chain come off.
I get ~60 cuts on one charge. Cut this morning on one charge.
I still find it hard to believe that I can run this chainsaw without any oil with little to no wear on the bar. It is a pruning saw and only runs for shorts bursts on max 3-4" branches so there is little or no heat buildup.
I found this on the HD site in the Q&A section.
I have little to no wear on the chain bar. I keep the blade tight against the bar when I run it. Some reviewers on HD have posted that the chain on theirs falls off. I have never had the chain come off.
I get ~60 cuts on one charge. Cut this morning on one charge.
I still find it hard to believe that I can run this chainsaw without any oil with little to no wear on the bar. It is a pruning saw and only runs for shorts bursts on max 3-4" branches so there is little or no heat buildup.I found this on the HD site in the Q&A section.
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If you use your chainsaw alot gas wins. Batteries will degrade and in some cases are a percent of the new saw price to buy.
If you buy a battery chainsaw and only use the batteries in that one tool, yeah the batteries degrade. In my case I have a ton of M18 tools which I will always use, M18 shop vac, M18 mower, M18 trimmer, Drill, Driver, SawZall, SDS, Flashlights, Compressor, Circular Saw, etc etc
So realistically, the batteries need to be swapped eventually regardless, which makes the battery degradation for just the saw, "free" so to speak
If you use the saw a lot, I don't see how it just keeps going further into the battery saw's advantage, thats assuming you have a lot of batteries, good chargers etc, of course
I could run the saw near endlessly
I have 3 acres, lawn and woods split. I also have the M18 saw and love it. It does everything I need and have felled a few trees and bucked them into firewood. I also have multiple M18 tools and have about 5 batteries.
In fact I haven't used my Stihl in a few years (I should pull it out and get it started). The M18 has made a bad situation with my gas saw even worse. My preference for the ease of use in the battery saw has made my Stihl saw a unless piece at this point. I tried to run the gas saw this winter and couldn't get it started. Maybe with some fresh gas and hot temps I'll be successful.
I'm nearly transitioned to battery power now. Trimmer, small blower, saw, hedge trimmer are all electric. I still have the push mower and backpack blower as gas jobs. Push mower will definitely go battery power someday (brother loves his), but I don't think anything could replace my Stihl backpack.
In fact I haven't used my Stihl in a few years (I should pull it out and get it started). The M18 has made a bad situation with my gas saw even worse. My preference for the ease of use in the battery saw has made my Stihl saw a unless piece at this point. I tried to run the gas saw this winter and couldn't get it started. Maybe with some fresh gas and hot temps I'll be successful.
I'm nearly transitioned to battery power now. Trimmer, small blower, saw, hedge trimmer are all electric. I still have the push mower and backpack blower as gas jobs. Push mower will definitely go battery power someday (brother loves his), but I don't think anything could replace my Stihl backpack.
So far I have not seen any degradation of the battery. I only have one Ryobi battery and should purchase another. This battery takes less than an hour to charge up. The saw only weighs 2.7 lbs and I can easily use it with one hand and it's small enough to get into tight spots that a gas saw could not. Like I said it's fine for pruning but anything bigger than 4" I break out my gas saw.
I had a few 9.0 HD's go bad, first one was replaced under warranty and second wasn't, but that battery had known issues. I took the pack apart and ditched the 3 bad 18650's, resistance and capacity tested the rest and use them in flashlights now, all Samsung 30Q's, no idea why the packs go bad
I do have an old 4.0 pack I got in 2016 that clearly doesn't have as much oomph as a newer 5.0 that replaces that line, but almost 10 years of hard use, I'll take it! I use that battery in the M18 search light now, still gets over 3 hours of run time in that
I do have an old 4.0 pack I got in 2016 that clearly doesn't have as much oomph as a newer 5.0 that replaces that line, but almost 10 years of hard use, I'll take it! I use that battery in the M18 search light now, still gets over 3 hours of run time in that
My Echo gas trimmer and Craftsman chainsaw will both be replaced by battery powered Makita units if/when either dies.
How long do you find the batteries last in terms of years for you? You are pretty committed to the M18 system anyways!
If batteries last say 6 years, and you get down to 6 batteries, then you are buying 1 per year on average. Far more expense than gas for a push mower, trimmer, and saw, but just dozens of dollars anyways... Having almost everything cordless and gas-less is worth something, to most people, and it sounds like it works for you.
I guess my gas saw is worth $4-500 now, but its still $1400! here to get started with a M18 dual battery saw.... and 2 more batteries is another $600... And then in 6 years? $800 for 4 batteries again? A $1200 pro gas saw seems like a bit of deal considering it only costs fuel and a few carb kits to run 30+ years in homeowner firewood usage.
Its too soon to tell for me, I only got into the platform in 2016 and so most of my batteries are still going strong other than the noted exceptions
I can tell you I've spent more money on carbs than failed batteries
This. If you live in my neighborhood, with a little postage stamp size lawn, and small trees and shrubs, cordless saws make sense. If you have 100 acres of woodland, like a couple of my buddies, it's gasoline power all the way.
Out of interest, why? How many trees are you cutting down per day? Are you clear cutting the property?
They have cleared land to build homes, barns and put in driveways. Post storm cleanup. Cutting firewood. Lots to do with that many trees.
I don't see how you couldn't do all of that with a battery chainsaw
Different strokes for different folks.
I think a 60-70cc pro saw is still hard to beat for firewood or big cuts. Cheaper, slimmer, lighter and more power, is the main attraction if you are going to cut for a couple hours at a time. Also spin up time and partial throttle response, seem to be better with a good gas saw, and no annoying safety switch on top of the back handle. You could do the same work a bit more awkwardly and slowly with a battery saw with a few spare batteries, and some of them seem to stand up pretty decently.
I do see lots of businesses use cordless saws for a few cuts at a time, or top handle saws for arborists, and you don't have to wear hearing protection, so they are great for that.
We picked up the little rigid cordless saw and it is handy to do many small cuts, and my Dad has a 40V greenworks which cuts like a 40-50cc homeowner saw in 12" hardwood. They both have a very annoying amount of throttle lag compared to my gas saws so I couldn't limb cedar trees for fence posts nearly as fast with them, or you get into the bad habit of holding it WO between cuts.
See, so at this point we are comparing high end Pro saws with cheap, budget battery saws. Go try some higher end battery saws!
You could do the exact same argument comparing a pro saw to a $99 gasoline saw
You can see how awkward the dual battery m18 is, batteries sticking out for cooling but not great in the brush. And other than that, I guess the stihl battery ones are a good comparison to a 50cc pro saw. But then I'm $1300 into a saw with two batteries that don't work with any of my other cordless stuff? And then I probably need two new batteries at 10 years again.
I think getting a decent cordless saw that matches your existing battery packs is good idea, but for the money on a pro battery saw starting from scratch doesn't pencil out for me, if I'm going to be doing pro saw things with it.
I probably buy at least one battery per year but it's simply a fixed expense no matter what. I absolutely need M18 (or insert cordless platform of your choice) to make a living. I'd have the same number of batteries regardless of whether or not I had the chainsaw.
NOW, does chainsaw use shorten their life? Maybe. Probably. I don't know.
Furthermore I save soooooo much in heating costs per year the cost of one or even two batteries is negligible and worth every penny.
That said, I'm still not arguing battery is superior. Merely saying it's what I prefer in my own personal situation.
NOW, does chainsaw use shorten their life? Maybe. Probably. I don't know.
Furthermore I save soooooo much in heating costs per year the cost of one or even two batteries is negligible and worth every penny.
That said, I'm still not arguing battery is superior. Merely saying it's what I prefer in my own personal situation.
I have an electric chain saw & pole saw that I bought off of FBMP separately for a total of $50. Both need extension cord for use(no battery). This is all I’ve needed in 42 years of home ownership.
My BIL heats with wood and has at least 3-4 good name brand chain saws but he needs them.
My BIL heats with wood and has at least 3-4 good name brand chain saws but he needs them.
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